DESCRIPTION
Butter Tarts are a quintessential Canadian treat that are a decadent, delicious and surprisingly easy addition to anyone’s holiday dessert tray. They’re so easy that I’ve made two batches already this year. Learn how to make this classic decadent tart.
Note: I have recently tested a bunch of different butter tart recipes and tweaked them to get the best possible version. The new version is above for you under the title “Gooey Maple Butter Tarts (New Recipe!). I urge you to give a try. But I’m leaving the original recipe below for those of you who already make it and love it. I would hate to take it away from you!
Ingredients
- 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1 egg
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. heavy cream, half and half, or milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- Pastry dough for two pie crusts, rolled out to 1/4-in. thick
Instructions
- Cut the butter into pieces, put it into a microwave-safe dish, and heat it for 20 seconds at a time until melted. Set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the raisins and boiling water. Set aside.
- Crack the egg into a medium bowl and whisk it a bit. Add the brown sugar, cream, vanilla, and salt. Stir.
- Drain the raisins, discarding the water. Add the raisins and the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture. Stir until incorporated. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Use a 3 to 3 and 1/2 inch diameter round cookie cutter or glass to cut the pastry dough into 22-24 circles. You will likely need to gather up some scraps of dough and roll them out again to get enough rounds. Push the rounds of dough gently into foil baking cups or foil-lined paper cupcake cups. Insert them into the cups of 2 standard-size 12 cup muffin tins.
- Fill each cup about halfway full of filling.
- Bake until pastry is beginning to turn golden, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Gently remove liners and tarts from muffin tins and then remove the liners. These can be served immediately or put into an airtight container and refrigerated for 4 days or into an airtight container and frozen for 2 months.
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Notes
Adapted from the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League Cookbook: Ukrainian Traditional and Favorite Recipes, 1970. Printed in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, recipe by Isabel Lys. I have changed the ingredients somewhat and the method quite a bit but the general amounts are the same as her version.